01.08.06

The Ministry of Finance has prepared and published a new version of the bill “On Official Accounting.” Work on accounting reforms have gone on for more than a year. Originally, these reforms were focused on moving all Russian companies to IFRS. Presently, however, the bill focuses on other issues.

The scale of the reforms has basically been reduced to requiring that businessmen who use simplified taxation be required to maintain financial accounting. Bookkeepers of larger organizations must pass so called “conformity tests.” Until now these “minimal qualification requirements” have not been specifically stated.

More details about the changes:

• Currently, companies operating under simplified taxation need to submit tax-accounting documents only if they are paying dividends. (The High Court of Arbitration prepared a draft decision in mid June in which stock companies operating under simplified taxation must maintain accounts.) According to the new rules, all companies will have to submit financial accounting documents.
• Legal entities paying the Single Income Tax do not maintain accounting. However, the Ministry of Finance is categorically against individual businessman not having this responsibility.
• Larger companies were also mentioned in the draft bill. Clause 6 stipulates, chief accountants of organizations subject to obligatory audits must meet certain “minimum qualification requirements.” These companies are defined as public corporations; companies whose annual revenues exceed 500,000 times the minimum wage and/or control assets at the end of the year exceeding 200,000 times the minimum wage. These requirements will be detailed later in the form of a special government order (the Central Bank will be responsible for issuing these requirements for credit organizations).